About the Author
Plex, by Rockwell Automation, is the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, empowering the world’s manufacturers to make awesome products. Our platform gives manufacturers the ability to connect, automate, track and analyze every aspect of their business to drive transformation. The Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform includes solutions for manufacturing execution (MES), ERP, quality, supply chain planning and management, Industrial IoT and analytics to connect people, systems, machines, and supply chains, enabling them to lead with precision, efficiency and agility.
Key Takeaways from the 9th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report
What’s new. What’s now. And what’s happening next. The 2024 State of Smart Manufacturing Report offers a comprehensive look at where 1,500+ manufacturers see challenges and opportunities both today and in the future. From the expanding use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to the ongoing need for a skilled, adaptive workforce, here’s a rundown of the report’s biggest takeaways that…
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Forecasting and Demand Planning in the Age of Machine Learning
Companies use a variety of tools to assess the current state of their business and predict where it is headed. By “reading the tea leaves”, planners attempt to ensure correct stock levels, optimize inventory levels and inventory value, and provide a framework for staffing and operations.But the complexity of modern-day supply chains requires that forecasting and planning be more than just reading…
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Overcoming Challenges to Becoming a Quality Leader
"Quality is everyone's responsibility."This decades-old quote from quality researcher and educator W. Edwards Deming has stood the test of time for good reason: essential to both products and processes, quality can be influenced by every role up and down the manufacturing process. Everyone shares the burden of maintaining and improving quality — and therefore can also share in the success of…
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Will It Go Round in Circles?
Many have heard the 1972 song by Billy Preston called Will It Go Round in Circles?It was a catchy tune, but if you listen to the words, you realize the singer had no idea if his suggestions would work or “go round in circles.”Others have wondered the same thing about a more recent trend called the circular economy. Since its conception, most have considered the concept aspirational rather than…
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From Reactive to Proactive: Big Data Analytics & Supply Chain Management
Traditional supplier management consisted of spreadsheets, planner experience, and a lot of guesswork.Decisions were made based on dated, error-prone information and human analysis using spreadsheets or old standalone software.This reality forced companies into a reactive position. Because data was compiled and analyzed after events had occurred, there was little planning professionals could do…
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Improve Your Improvements by Digitizing Processes
In traditional manufacturing, continuous improvement was a misnomer. It wasn't that practitioners were insincere or wrong. But manual processes, data acquisition, and analysis, created hard limits to what the most zealous continuous improvement methodologies could achieve....
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Automotive Manufacturing Trends for the Balance of the Decade
Each year brings new predictions of the future. These predictions include what to expect, what will happen, and which technologies will power the expectations.While these predictions are always interesting to consider, they should be kept in the context of reality to have value for automotive manufacturers. With a rapidly evolving landscape, this industry is producers are under intense pressure…
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Digital Building Blocks for Leadership
Manufacturers inevitably begin with operational efficiency, cost reduction, and process improvement during the foundational stages of a digital journey. Beyond that, the tendency is to retain vestiges of traditional thinking that “wall off” other functional areas as separate from the production focus....
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When Customers Come Knocking: The Link Between Demand and Execution
There's an old business phrase that says that the customer is always right. While many companies have tied themselves into knots trying to service ever-changing consumer tastes, there is one area they often neglect to address in their efforts.What if the message customers send points to your system more than your product? And what if the things they ask for require you to abandon a manual system…
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What Can Manufacturers Learn from Brass Aluminum’s Quest for Visibility and Automation?
Running a multi-operational business is an impressive feat, but that hasn’t always been the case for Brass Aluminum Forging Enterprises (BAFE). The company specializes in the production of brass, copper, and aluminum forgings and was originally comprised of only two forging presses, one trim press, and an eight-operator workforce. Over the years, the company has grown both in size and in…
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